Automobile-signal.



S. H. DAVIS.

AUTOMOBILE SIGNAL.

APPLICATION man :un: a. 19:5.

\L L 2 Y ZJA Irl) S. H. DAVIS` AUTOMOBILE SIGNAL.

APPLICATION HLED 1uN 8, 1915.

1,228,187. Patented May 29, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. Y

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

v SAMUEL HQDAVIS, OF ROANOKE, VIRGINIA.

y .AUTOMOBILE-SIGNAL.

To allai/1,011@ 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, SAMUEL H. DAVIS, a citizenV of the United States,residing at .lioanoke,'in the county of Roanoke and State of Virginia,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automobile-Signals,of which the following is a specification. v

This invention relates to signaling means or direction indicating meansfor Aautomobiles or other vehicles, and the principal object thereof isto provide convenient and improved means for actuating such signals aswell as improvements in the manner of constructing and arranging thevarious parts pertaining thereto.

l/,Vith such lgeneral objects in view, the inveiitioiiconsists intheformation, combinationand arrangement .of elements vasfwill be hereindescribed andrclaimed.

. Ill the. drawings, .Figure l, afplan view 4of, an automobile havingVvlilly.'lillvliltioii a-pfV plied,l thereto, the unrelated parts `Vtheveu, shown.,diagranimatically Y,

hicle being ,indicated`A in dotted lines and theA wiring for ,therelectric lvigllrts which a reu sed inA connection wit myl inventionvbeing FigwZ,isfaside,elevation shown ,in a

iii-innersiinilanto Figjl, and 4v3 ,and

are rear and frontw'elevational viewsfthereof respeetivelyL all being,shown in "the sa ine ,mannen v section, of,tlie ,steeringwheelV andstand v.of

tliepautoiiiobile, togethery with the portions ofmy device which areadjacent land alt',-

ftached thereto, this figure being drawn to nasnlerged Scale over ,that0f 2.-

indicator-.21s displayingraviolis :L

` l tal,l section ating asignalns will later be described.

Fig-'.61 iS.,;ai 1a1i-viev.9f the Steeltasvhd ofl the. autamebile and?.,thehand lsvetfefhmy @ricain @pesi-.tien freinent .thwaid wheel-. ,4 pFig. 7 is a plan view oftheeleetric 'switch Vand5 Eig-gn8.Medical.longitudinal section Ottime-Qt tliheadliehtS-Of Figs. 9:, 10, 11and 12iaifere i viewsofithe'frean end ySignal Shaving-the 'maistaken,thiailli'tl,4 the rear end,4 signal.y

'Mishima'- naw .tof these .drawing like, ,parts als .Simi-la .designated .Eig-,d3 isa@ transverses Specication of Letters Patent.

shown for it in Fig. 5.

conventionalwfoim ofnautoinobile kt ,l astaifutlrg.

Patented May 29, 1917.

Appiication ined :une s, 1915. seriai No. 32,887.

bearing for my direction indicating shaft 8. This shaft 8 is disposedpreferably parallel with and to the side of the steering stand andse'cuijedto the top thereof for the purpose of rotating this shaft is ahand lever 9.

This hand lever is intended to provide means for a two-fold movement,the first being the'. rotation of the shaft 8 and the seycond being toactuate vertically the small rod 1Q.`

To ,this end the several parts are made and connected as follows:

The shaft 8 is made of a piece of hollow tubing orqpipe and near the topis clamped or otherwise rigidly secured to it a bracket l1 which extendsforwardly beyond the shaft and foi-ins a horizontally disposed pivotpoint 12,1 for the frontward extension 13 of-tlie hand lever.

The hand lever 9 is formed on its lower facenwithda depression or pocketto fit over tlietop ,ofthelshaft or pipe 8 so that the shaft" Spinay berotated by means of this liandaleyer,l the said lever being held fromrevolviiigzvabout the shaft by means of the extension 71,3 nand pivot12.

HAtthesame time, and when in any rotative` position the hand lever maybe liftedV uplabouhthe,pivot 12, the depth of the pocket'in tlie` handlever being such thatthe pocket,,willV still have the end of the shaftin retentionwhen the hand lever has been lifted to the maximum.

'Ilierod 10, which has been previously referred tois disposed within thehollow of thesliaftgaind at the top it extends through a3 iole in the'hand lever and the nut 14 is ap )lied tol the. end of the rod to retainthe saidroihon the. hand lever.

h this construction, when the hand leverfi ,lifted up about the pivot12, the rod l0willbe lifted up also and the lower portion, ,=:.l5thereof, which extends out v through aislot in the shaft 8, will assumethe position shownfor itin dotted lines in Fig. 5,. tflieihandleverbeing then 4in the position At 16 the rod 10 is pI'ovi d,e ,d lwithmeans for the attachment `ford or wire cable 17 for actu- .,Tlie shaft,8 extends downward through tlie/ oortoigthe car and at the bottom isjolliinaleflfin ,abiacket 18, a universal joint SZfbeiingprovided tochange the direction ofgthe jshaf-t..=Adjacent the bracket 18 thereissecured to the said shaft an arm or lever 19 to whichis operativelyconnected at the outer end of the said arm, a rod 20. As the hand leveris moved to the right or left the shaft 8 will be rotated and the rod 2Omoved forward or backward through the medium of the arm 19. The arm 19is connected to the rod 20 between the extremities of the said rod, thesame being divided to admit the end of the arm 19 between the sidesthereof, and a pin 21 is inserted through suitable holes in the rod andarm, the hole in the arm being slotted to compensate for the angularityof the arm as it is moved.

My signal system consists of front and rear-end signals, and I providemechanical signals for day use and coperatingelectric light signals fornight use. The front-end day signal consists of a hand or pointer 22positioned near the front of the machine and just over the radiator. Theindicator 22 is affixed to a vertical shaft 23 carried in a suitablebearing 24, and to the bottom of this shaft 23 is secured a horizontallydisposed lever or arm 25. To the outer end of this arm 25 is pivotallyconnected at 26 a rod 27, the other end of which is similarly connectedat 28 to one arm of a bell-crank lever 29. This bell-crank lever ispivoted at 30 to a suitable bracket 31 and to the other arm of thebell-crank lever is pivotally connected at 32 the front end of the rod20. Thus as the rod 20.4 is moved backward or forward, the pointer 22 isturned to the left or the right, indicating tothe trailic oflicer thatit is the intention to so turn the vehicle, the neutral positionindicating that it is the intention to continue straight ahead.

The rear-end day signal consists of the following arrangement: Mountedon the rear of the car is a case 38 which is made preferably circular inform and of such a size as to allow one or more spare tires to encirclethe same. Extending longitudinally of this case is a shaft 33, the samebeing journaled in bearings 34 and 35.

The rear head 36 of this case is provided with sight apertures 37 ateach side. Ailixed to the shaft 33 is a double arm pointer 39,

the arms or ointers thereof being disposed at substantia ly 90 degreesfrom each other. In the neutral or mid-'position these arms are in theposition shown in Fig. 10 so that neither pointer is seen through eitherof the sight apertures.

Aiiixed to the front end of the shaft 33, which extends through thefront head of the case, is a depending arm or lever 40 and pivotallyconnected to the lower extremity of this arm 40 is a rod 41, the otherend of said rod bein pivotally connected to one arm of a bel -cranklever 42. This bellcrank lever is fulcrumed at 43 to a suitable bracket44 and to the other arm of the bell- 5 crank lever 43 is pivotallyconnected the rear-end of the rod 20. Thus by the fore and aft movementsof the rod 20 the double arrow 39 will be rotated with the shaft 33 sothat an arm may be caused to appear through one or the other of thesight apertures. And the construction and connections described arc suchthat the arrows will indicate directions at the rear harmoniously withthe front indicatori.

Pivoted loosely on the shaft 33 and to the front of the doublearm-pointer 39 is a stop signal or flag 45. This flag has an extendedportion 46 beyond the shaft 33 to which is secured at 47 the other endof the cord or cable 17, the same being guided and alined by means ofsuitable sheaves or pulleys 48. When the cord 17 is moved, by means ofthe hand-lever 9 and rod 10, the flag portion of the stop-signal will beraised to view through one of the sight apertures, it then being in theposition shown in Figs. 3 and l0, When released, it drops ont of sightto the position shown in Figs. 9 and l1. Fig. l2 shows this rear endsignal with both the contemplated directions given and the stop signaldisplayed, indicating that it is the intension to turn to the right andthen come to a stop.

It will be evident that the peculiar formation and operation 'of thehand lever 9 together with the disposition of the double arm pointer andthe stop signal in the case 38 makes this double display possible.

At 49 'is a suitable brace to afford lateral stiffness to the ease 38and also to provide means for preventing the doublepoint arrow fromhanging up against the stop signal during their movements.

The inner surface of the case is prefer ably white enameled and may havedetachable white enameled liners as at 50. In the bottom of the casealso is provided an open.- ing 51 to allow dust and dirt to drop out andso that the entire case may be washed out.

The rear face of the case will be utilized for the display of thelicense number and the name of the car and for other display purposes.Braces 52 are provided to stay the case 38 to the car. A

In the top of the` front indicator is an aperture 53 for the admissionof apennant holder or other device.

Thus I have shown the nature and operation of my day signals. It nowremains to explain the signals to be used in conjunction therewith atnight. These are a series of electric lights arranged in a peculiarorder as to color and so connected that the mechanical movements of theday signals will automatically make the proper electrical connectionsfor their harmonious display.

For the front of the car I provide each of the two main headlights with'two additional smaller lights, arranged over and under the main light.The upper light in each case is red andthe lower light green inv color.At the center of the front of the machine also I provide two smalllights ar ranged one over the other, this group being slightly higherthan the side groups. These are arranged with a white light` over a redlight. These lights are numbered (see Fig. 4) 54-55 and 56 for the threeupper lights and 57-58 and 59 for the three lower lights.

Similar lights are arranged on the rear face of rear case 38 in threesimilar groups of 2 lights each, and the vnumerals l60---61' and 62represent three upper lights and 63-64 and 65 three lower lights. Theselights are displayed through suitable openings in the rear of the case.

The wiring diagram of Fig. 1 shows these same lightsy and shows how theymay be connected to correctly light up when each of the several signalsis given, a descrlption of such lighting being hereinafter given. v IThe form and operation of my improved switch for the automatic controlof these lights will now be described.

Afiixed to the shaft 8 is a switch throw member 66, the same havingthree arms 67-68 and 69. At 70 is a strip of spring brass forming aswitch between terminals 71 and 72 for the electric wires 73 and 74respectively. With the shaft 8 in the neutral or mid-positionJ the arm68 of the member 66 has deiected the spring 70 so as to close the gapbetween the wires 73 and 74, and allflights on this circuit will now beilluminated. And from Fig. 1 it will be seen that the white lights and61 are at this time burning as the straight ahead signal. a

When the shaft 8 is rotated to indicate a turn to the left the arm 68will release the spring 70 and disconnect lights 55 and 61 and the arm69 will deflect the spring 75, closing the gap between the wires 76 and77 and from iFig. 1 will give current to lights 56 and 57 at the frontand and v65 at the back of the machine, the combination'being a nightsignal for a turn to the left.

' Similarly .a movement of the shaft 8 for a turn to the right willdeflect the spring 78 and connect the wires 79 and 80, lighting thelamps 54 and 59 at the front and 62 and 63 at the rear, this being thenight signal for a turn to the right. y

For use with the stop signal employ a spring S1 which is adapted. whendefiected` to connect the vwires 82 and 83 and thereby connect up thered lights 58 and 64. these lights indicating a contemplated stop. Thespring 81 is deflected by means of an arm 84 attached tothe rod 10 andextending out through a slot in the shaft 8. When the it will be seenthat this hand-lever 9 is raised, carrying with it the rod 10, the arm84 de'lects the spring 81 upward to connect the terminals 85 and 86. Therelease of the handlever allows the rod 10 to drop and the spring 81 toreturnto the open position.

For convenience andneatness the bearing 24 for the front indicator shaftis made with three vertical passageways, the middle one being utilizedfor the shaft 23 and the side ones formi conduits for the electric wiresto the signa y lights -55 and 58, these lights being mounted upon thefront face of the .bearing 24. i

Thus I have described an embodiment of my invention. It will beunderstood that the lower end of said shaft, a rod pivotally connectedbetween its extremities to the end of the said arm, a pair of bell-cranklevers fulcrumed to convenient parts of the machine near the ends ofthemachine, one arm of each of the said vbell-crank levers havingpivotal connection with an end of the said rod, a front-end directionindicator mounted above and to the front of the machine, a verticalshaft to which is secured the said direction indicator, an arm securedto the lower extremity of said vertical shaft, a rod having pivotalconnection at one end with one of the arms of the said front bell cranklever and having pivotal connection at its other end with the said armon the frontend direction indicator shaft, a rear-end directionindicator comprising a double arm pointer, a. case inclosing saidpointer, a shaft journaled in said case, to which shaft is secured thesaid double-arm pointer, an arm secured to the said pointer shaft and arod having pivotal connection at one end with one of the arms of therear Vbell-crank lever andxhaving pivotal connection at the other endwith the said arm on the rear-end indicator shaft, substantiallyv asdescribed.

2. In an automobile signal, a shaft having a hand lever aiiixed to thetop thereof and adaptedto form rotative means for the actuation of thesaid shaft, an arm secured to the lower end of said shaft, a rodpivotally connected between its extremities to the end of the said arm,a pair of bell-crank levers fulcrumed to convenient parts ofthe machinenear the ends of the machine, one arm of each of the said bell-cranklevers having pivotal connection with an. end of the said rod, afront-enddirection indicator mounted above and to the front of themachine, a

vertical shaft to which is secured the said direction indicator, an armsecured to the lower extremity of. said vertical shaft, a rod havinpivotal connection at one end with one o the arms of the said frontbell-crank lever, and having pivotal connection at its other end withthe said arin on' the frontend direction indicator shaft, a rear-enddirection indicator comprising a double arm pointer, a case inclosingsaid pointer, a shaft journaled in said case to which shaft is securedthe said double-arm pointer= an` arm secured to the said pointer shaftand a rod havin pivotal connection at one end with one o the arms oftherear bell-crank lever and havin pivotal connection at the other end witht e said arm on the rear indicator shaft, a rear-end sto `signalcontained within the said rear-en case, said stop signal having a flagat one end and tension meinber connecting means at its opposite end, thepivot point being between the extremities of the said stop signal, a roddisposed approximately parallel with the said hand lever shaft andhaving tension member connecting means at its lower end, a tensioninemberconnecting said stop signal with the lower end of the said rod,and means for manually effecting the longitudinalmovement of the saidrod for the actuation of the said stop signal, substantially asdescribed.

3. In an automobile signal, a hollow shaft having a bracket` securedthereto adjacent one end thereof, a hand lever fulcrumed to said bracketand having operative relationship with the said shaft, the said handlever extending over the end of the said shaft and havi a grip portiondisposed A at the opg?- site side ofsaid shaft from the said crum point,a rod contained lon itudinally Within the hollow of the said sha t, Saidrod being secured at one end to the said hand lever andbeing adapted tobe actuated longitudinally of the shaft by the movements of the saidhand lever about its fulcrum point, the said hand lever being furtherada ted to form rotating means for the said shait, front and rear enddirection signals a rear end stop signal, the said direcsignals havingVoperative relationship through a system of levers and rods with the saidshaft, and being adapted to be operaed by the r'tiltion of the saidshalft, the Sai stop sign aving operative re ationship with the said rodand be' adapted to be actuated by the longitudina movements of the saidrod, substantially as described.

4. In an automobile signal, o. rear end signal comprising a circularcase of a size suitable for receiving an automobile tirecircumferentially about the said case, the said case having front andrear heads, the said rear headbeing provided rwith a. pair of laterallydisposed sight apertures, a'shaft extending and tion longitudinally ofthe said case and being journaled therein, a double arm indicatorsecured to said shaft, the two arms thereof being disposed atapproximately 90 from each other, a stop signal pivotcd loosely on saidshaft and to the front of the said double arm indicator, means formanually rotating the said shaft to such angular positions as to displayfirst one of the arms of the said indicator in one of the said sightapertures and then the other of thc said arms of the indicator in theother sight aperture, and means for manually rotating the said stopsignal about the said shaft to such an angle as will make the samevisible through one of the said sight apertures, substantially asdescribed.

5. An automobile signal comprising a case, said case having front andrear heads, a pair of sight apertures disposed at either side of thesaid case, visual indicating means contained within the said case, meansfor displaying the said indicating means through the said sightapertures, a plurality ofpairs of electric light apertures in the rearhead of said case to each side of the center of said case, the aperturesof each of said pairs being disposed one above and one below the saidsight apertures, a third pair of electric light apertures in thejhead ofsaid case disposed thereof and above the apertures for the side pairs,lights contained within said case immediately in front of saidapertures, and means for controlling said lights in conjunction with Yand in harmony with the mechanism for the actuation of the said visualsignals, substantially as described.

6. In an automobile signal, visual frontend and rear-end signals, meanswithin the reach of the driver for actuating` the said signals, a seriesof front-end and rear-end electric light signals, .and means acting inconjunction and in harmony with the mechanism for they actuation of thesaid visual signals for controlling the lights of the said electric 1iht signals, the said electric signals being em race in three distinctelectrical circuits, the said controlling` means comprising a three-armthrow attached to a convenient rotating member of the visual signalsystem, a leafspring adjacent each arm of the said throw and adapted tobe deflected thereby when the said throw is rotated, the -flaid leafsprings forming electrical switches in the said electrical circuits,substantially as described,

7. In an automobile signal, visual frontend and rear-end signals, meanswithin the reach of the driver for actuating saidsigna a series offront-end and rear-end electric light signals, means acting inconjunction with and in harmony with the actuation of the said visualsignals for controlling the lights of the said electrical Signals, Seidspring being over the adjacent arm on the said rod, an electricalterminal adjacent the free end of the said leaf spring, the other wireof the circuit to the said electrical signals being in electricalcommunication with the said terminal, the said leaf spring beingdisposed in the path of travel of the arm on the said rod and beingadapted when depressed thereby to complete the electrical connection tothe sald electrical signals, 15

substantially as described. v

In testimony whereof, I aix iny signature in presence of tw'o witnessesSAMUEL Wltnesses:

W. J. Wmmmm, A. W. HAYNns.

'H. DAVIS.

